Question
Will I be able to combine the de-superheater on my geothermal heat pump with my solar water-heating system?
I'm buying a home that has a solar hot water heating system yet has an oil furnace. I would like to install a geothermal system, but would first like to know if it's possible to combine (in parallel) the solar hot water heat exchanger and the de-superheater section of the heat pump.
Answer
There is no reason why these could not work together. Remember that the geothermal de-superheater will only heat water when the unit is running, so if you have an efficient house that uses the geothermal less, having a solar back-up, which would obviously still heat your water on cooler but sunny days, is perfect. Simply having the de-superheater preheat the water should work, or you could get more sophisticated with thermostats and only use the solar heater as required.
